Travel booking startup targets Bitcoin investors with cashback offer

The Turkish Lira (TRY) has become the third largest fiat currency by volume in the cryptocurrency market, according to a report by Kaiko. This milestone was reached as TRY's share of the crypto market hit an all-time high of 19% in early June. The increase in volume is attributed to the country's economic challenges, notably its high inflation rate, which has surpassed 70%, making the lira one of the most volatile fiat currencies globally.Photo by Afdhallul Ziqri on UnsplashFactors influencing the increaseThe shift in the Turkish lira's position in the crypto market is partly due to increased foreign exchange volatility and currency devaluation, common catalysts for cryptocurrency adoption in developing economies. Additionally, geopolitical factors such as a record number of elections and diverging monetary policies have intensified market fluctuations. This environment has favored cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which reached new highs against the lira in recent months. For instance, Bitcoin escalated to 2.3 million TRY in March from 979,000 TRY in October 2023. The recent adjustments in cryptocurrency trading platforms, particularly Binance's delisting of certain fiat trading pairs due to banking issues, have also increased the dominance of TRY in crypto transactions. This series of events underscores the growing interconnection between traditional and digital finance markets, highlighting the increasing role of cryptocurrencies in regions facing economic instability. 

XPLA and PERPLAY join forces to bolster rewarding mechanism to Web3 gamesSouth Korean gaming corporation Com2uS Group’s layer 1 blockchain XPLA has entered a business agreement with the mobile Game and Earn (G&E) platform PERPLAY to boost the sustainability of its ecosystem and take Web3 gaming to new heights, according to an official announcement on Thursday (KST).Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on UnsplashXPLA’s vision“XPLA is a project working towards promoting new levels of fun in Web3 gaming and building an ecosystem based on a fair system of sharing rewards with users,” said Paul Kim, Team Leader at XPLA. “Through this partnership with PERPLAY, we are one step closer to fulfilling our Web3 philosophy, which is centered around the participants in our ecosystem.”Rewards for everyoneThe PERPLAY app runs on a Proof of Play (POP) algorithm that employs a rewarding mechanism that distributes tokens to users based on their game playtime and collection of tiered NFTs. PERPLAY users can earn $XPER and $PER token rewards by playing any mobile game — existing or newly downloaded — that they have registered in the PERPLAY app.XPLA hopes to integrate this algorithm into its ecosystem to add a rewarding layer to various games on its mainnet, offering a unique and elevated gaming experience. The first of these games will be Com2uS Holdings’ popular mobile role-playing game (RPG) The Walking Dead: All-Stars.“We see this partnership with XPLA as an opportunity to further strengthen the PERPLAY user ecosystem,” said Lim Jae-chung, CEO of PERPLAY. “Starting with The Walking Dead: All-Stars, we will bring the PERPLAY experience to various Web3 games on XPLA.”In a related development, XPLA has partnered with Google Cloud, which will serve as a Volunteer Validator for its blockchain protocol. The collaboration with the cloud computing platform is expected to enhance the integrity of the XPLA network.

Tokenpost, a South Korean media outlet covering news on blockchain and crypto, launched the open beta version of its Web3 news polling service jointly developed with PUNKPOLL – a voting and polling platform based on the MINA protocol – that provides random surveys based on daily news for readers to participate in.Photo by Element5 Digital on UnsplashProviding the backbone for digital democracyThe polling service utilizes MINA's zero-knowledge blockchain (zkBlockchain) technology to protect personal information and operate an independent news polling system free from centralized management. It aims to realize the core values of direct democracy in the digital realm by enabling readers to express their opinions through polls. Users’ identities are verified through PUNKPOLL’s Social Graph Authentication, a decentralized method where multiple users mutually verify each other’s identities. The service is most easily accessible through the KakaoTalk messaging app. Readers who participate in the survey will be rewarded with Tokenpost Tickets and PUNK tokens. Tokenpost Tickets can be used to enter prize sweepstakes via the Ticket Store, and PUNK tokens can be exchanged for MINA tokens at a 1:1 ratio starting from a minimum of 5 PUNK tokens.  This collaboration between Tokenpost, PUNKPOLL and MINA Protocol is expected to be an important step in introducing a new model of direct democracy for the digital age. About Tokenpost and PUNKPOLLTokenpost was founded in February 2017 as the first blockchain-focused media outlet in South Korea. It has been providing key information on the blockchain and cryptocurrency market. In 2018, it was the first media enterprise in the world to introduce a news platform that offers user rewards, and in 2019, it preemptively released a system for blockchain notarization of news articles, leading the way in utilizing Web3 technology in the media industry. PUNKPOLL is known for its secure and transparent decentralized voting platform that leverages distributed technology and the MINA protocol, allowing users to participate anonymously and reap the benefits of direct democracy. The company aims to resolve the problems of the existing voting system in an innovative way.